Main menu

A desperate and largely unknown humanitarian crisis is deteriorating in the Lake Chad Basin region of West Africa, forcing millions of people to flee their homes and leaving millions more in need of humanitarian assistance. Oxfam is providing life-saving support but help is urgently needed to prevent the crisis turning into a catastrophe.

Since January 2015 more than 1 million women and men fleeing war, persecution, natural disasters and poverty entered or passed through Greece in search of safety and a better life. We are working in Athens, Lesvos island and the Epirus region of North-West Greece responding to the urgent needs of people arriving. Support our work.

Did you know that 90% of Africa’s rural land is undocumented, leaving rural communities vulnerable to land-grabbing? It's a matter of human rights. It's their land. Join our collective effort to make a difference not just for Indigenous Peoples and local communities but for the health of the environment and ending poverty and inequality.

Every year, the gap between rich and poor gets even wider – and it’s being fuelled by the use of tax havens. Today, 62 individuals have the same wealth as the poorest half the people on our planet. It is time to bring an end to inequality. It is time to Even it up!

Two years of extended fighting has forced thousands of people to seek refuge in Nyal and the islands surrounding it. Many must regularly walk long distances alone in search of aid and food. We are assisting them to access free and safe travel by training canoe operators and distributing vouchers for transport.

For 40 years, the Quechua communities in Peru have lived with contaminated rivers, and poor health as a result of oil drilling. Teddy Guerra is leading the effort to obtain integral land rights for his community before any more concessions are given to oil companies. Read his story and sign the petition.

Millions of people are being forced to flee their homes, risking everything to escape conflict, disaster, poverty or hunger. We are working in nine of the ten top refugee source countries as well as in refugee host countries. We urgently need your help to reach people in Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and in Europe.

With no end in sight to the conflict in Syria, hundreds of thousands of people are living in desperate conditions and exposed to continuing violence. Today, half the pre-conflict population of 22 million Syrians have fled their homes and more than 13.5 million people urgently need your help.

You are here

12 June 2013 - Oxfam welcomed the Prime Minister’s announcement today that Canada will require mandatory disclosure of payments to governments by mining, oil and gas companies. Such transparency is essential if citizens in developing countries are to hold their governments accountable for investing that revenue in fighting poverty.

“We are very pleased that Prime Minister Harper has committed Canadato require extractive companies to report on their payments to governments,” said Mark Fried, Oxfam Canada policy director. “We urge the federal government to work quickly with the provinces to ensure that the information is readily available to citizens in Africa, Latin America and Asia.”

Industry and civil society groups say that mandatory reporting can best be achieved through provincial securities regulations and the federal government can lead the provinces to act together.

Canada’s announcement helps build momentum for the G8 summit next week where transparency is a priority. Oxfam seeks a public commitment from all G8 countries to adopt mandatory disclosure requirements country by country and project by project in the oil, gas and mining sectors.

The United States and the European Union are instituting disclosure requirements. The Canadian government’s commitment is vital as Canada is home to the majority of mining companies in the world.

The taxes, royalties and other payments that poor countries receive from extractive industries should be invested in economic and social development, Oxfam says. Mandatory reporting should help ensure that the public in developing countries has the information to hold government to account.

“We hope Canada will also embrace two other transparency proposals on the G8 table regarding land grabs and tax avoidance,” Fried said.

Oxfam International Survey

Please help us to improve the Oxfam website! This short survey should take just a few minutes to complete. You can opt to make your responses anonymous. The survey will close on 13 March 2015 at 5 pm GMT. We'll pick one respondent at random to receive a $35 Good Books gift voucher by 31 March 2015. We value your feedback.